The Terror Next Door (Based on a True Story)

24) Back Again

A/N
 Some of you who are on my Facebook and Instagram already know of what happened last year. 
Today marks one full year since the Sophia this story is based off of suffered a stroke. She was only nineteen. 2/5/2019
 It was a freak event that occurred when a blood clot in her knee traveled up to her brain, and nearly succeeded in killing her. Never had she smoked, drank, participated in recreational drug use, and yet, it still happened. It hasn't been an easy year for her. Sophie's slowly improving, but there's still many little things she struggles with. 
I haven't been able to update this story because every time I would type her name I would just get really angry by how completely and absolutely unfair life is. Which made it extremely difficult updating a book where the main character shares her name...
Although, Sophie would despise my not updating a book because of that. So here we are. I'm going to finish it as a thank you to every last reader who has followed this book from the very beginning. It's dedicated to you, and to Sophia. 
***
"There's no one else it could be," defended Alex. A few days had passed since the incident with Mrs. Bradshaw's near-death experience. Sophia was now feeling that it wasn't Blake behind the stalking or the attempted murders. But with that feeling it only propelled a more confusing question; who was behind everything? No one else knew the answer either.
Anytime Sophia tried expressing her theory that Blake wasn't behind everything that had happened the last few months, she was shot down.
Alex maintained Blake was guilty, but Sophia knew her sister was purely blinded by her hate for him to consider another suspect. Meanwhile, Colin sided with Alex while Annie remained neutral. She believed Sophia but she lacked any other suspect it could be.  Mr. and Mrs. Summers had far too much on their plates to be brought into the conversation. The Summers had come back to the house to pack. The plan was to place the items they couldn't put on their small moving truck into storage. Mrs, Summers had a friend down in rural Texas who wished to have them rent her house for free if they renovated the inside. Not being able to see another option, the Summers were preparing to move. Even though they were legal adults who could live on their own, Alex didn't feel safe staying in Schaumburg and whished to stay with the family. Colin wanted to tag along so he wouldn't have to make obligated visits to Grandma Diana.
"Say you're right," allowed Colin as he packed kitchen utensils into a large brown box. "Who would leave you the Valentine? It was addressed to you. Only Blake would have left it."
"Again, there's no one else it could be," said Alex as she placed cereal bowls into bubble wrap. "Everything points to Blake." She was firm in her statement. Her brown eyes looked around the room to see if someone would argue with her. Alex had been having nightmares the last few nights; Mrs. Summers had quietly confided that she would wake up gasping and in cold sweats from her nightmares. It made Sophia hate whoever was behind this madness just a little more. The last few months had been insanely difficult on everyone in the family and it was starting to show. It was quiet after that; no one dared to contradict Alex, even Sophia. But after a few more moments of packing and silence, something didn't sit right with Sophia.
"What about the mom?" She guessed randomly. Everyone stopped their packing to look at her. "What if saying her husband trying to kill her was just a ruse? What if she started the gas leak?"
"And what's her motive?" Allowed Alex. She still had gauze head wrapping after her near-death experience in the Jeep. The gauze made her forehead appear to be much larger than it was. Her brown hair was oddly stuffed under it where it looked like a gauze turban.
Alex raised a dark eyebrow. "The reason I think Blake did it was because it very easily would've taken out our house and the people in it."

"What if we weren't the target?" said Sophia as she stopped her packing. There was something that wasn't sitting right with her. "What if Mrs. Bradshaw did the gas leak herself just to frame her husband? If he went to jail, she gets money in the divorce plus she wouldn't have to deal with her husband seeing the kids anymore."
"And what, we and anyone else is just collateral damage?"
Sophia didn't know how to explain to everyone what it was she was thinking. "Maybe."
"And what?" Alex shrugged. She didn't appear to like the idea that she could possibly be wrong in her assumption on who was behind everything. Sophia suspected it was perhaps her sheer hate of Blake mixed with her own pride that left her unconvinced. "Mrs. Bradshaw also sent you the Valentine, wrote on your locker, and hid my poster board in the attic?" Asked Alex with crossed arms. "It doesn't add up."
It appeared as if Alex wasn't wrong. Nothing seemed to add up the more Sophia thought about it. If Blake wasn't the one behind the madness there wasn't an obvious answer as to who was.
Packing took a lot longer than it would probably have with a smaller family. There were so many kids in the Summers' household that it was difficult packing up everyone's clothes and belongings in a timely fashion. Mr. Summers wanted everyone out as soon as possible, but it was taking longer than necessary with how much packing there was to do. A few days after the incident with the gas leak, the police came by to question the Summers family. Sophia was hopeful they had a lead as to who was behind the leak. But the visit with the police ended up fruitless. A detective ended up explaining that there wasn't a suspect in the leak. It was a simple accident. They were only making rounds around the neighborhood on the chance that someone saw something that night.
There was no one they were looking at exclusively. That wasn't surprising, Sophia was certain it wasn't the husband behind everything like Mrs. Bradshaw claimed.
That was that. It didn't matter that there were no collaborating witnesses or any evidence supporting that Mr. Bradshaw did the crime. That was why Sophia suspected the police were questioning the neighbors. They were merely hoping someone knew something or at least supported Mrs. Bradshaw's theory. Since they didn't have any evidence, nothing could be done.

"So much for tellingthe police," Mr. Summers scoffed. He set down a few boxes of just delivered pizza. Mrs. Summers began putting pieces on paper plates for excited kids whileGrandma Summers helped get drinks ready.
"They're not doing a damn thing about that boy."
"Yeah that's a real shocker alright," muttered Alex as she re-bandaged her forehead. Everyone in the kitchen including children looked at her. She hadbeen sourer and more sarcastic than usual due to the impending move to Texas.
"She's not wrong," muttered Sophia, also sour. Even though Alex didn't side with her, Sophia knew her sister wasn't inaccurate. It wasn't fair their entire life was going to be changing due to a move to Texas.
It seemed it didn't matter how many times they tried telling the authorities there was something wrong with Blake. Their complaints always fell upon deaf ears.
***